Harry Potter and the Song Weavers
by Nanashi Tsurunaji
Summary: Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here!..."' Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Albus Dumbledore has long known of the presence of the Songweaver's Guild. And their war like attitude...
1. Dark Dreams

Note: Those who like the premise of my story, but hate my writing style, please check out The Marriage Stone by Josephine Darcy.

Title: Harry Potter and the Song Weavers

Author: Nanashi Tsurunaji

Beta: Perian

Disclaimer: All familiar characters, and most familiar creatures and places belong ultimately to J.K. Rowling. Exceptions include: Muggle London, unicorns, certain dragons, and Veriduin, who may or may not make an appearance as she sees fit.

Warnings: Shonen-ai / slash, shojo-ai / fem-slash, age gap (Sevvy and Harry), Dark Magicks, blurry lines and bad jokes. AU as of OotP.

* * *

Chapter One: Dark Dreams

Harry woke screaming from a nightmare. Unlike the nightly terrors from the year before, these were not inspired by Lord Voldemort, or even true events. On his eyelids, he could still see his beloved godfather tumbling into that sickening ghostly veil beyond which were gut churning whispers. In his mind's eye, Sirius Black, godfather and friend, died without even leaving a body behind to aid in the grieving process. Shaking, Harry closed his eyes to better remember the events of that terrifying night.

In reality, Sirius had been saved from an untimely death by a young Ministry witch. Harry took a deep breath and remembered. It was she, Gilda Bardsley, who flung Sirius out of the way of the on-coming curse and was shoved through the veil.

Heavy footsteps sounded in the hallway. "Shut up, Potter!" yelled Dudley as he threw open the door. Years of verbal abuse combined with the recent moodiness induced by the nightmares led Harry to completely snap. Much to his cousin's surprise, he pounced out of bed and slugged Dudley right in the eye. The heavier boy shouted and threw a punch of his own. Before either of them knew what was going on, they were fighting tooth and nail against each other. Neither boy could grasp the upper hand, though they both struggled hard. Harry, though small, was faster than his larger cousin. Yet, Dudley was better trained, working hard against Harry's self preservation, agility, and ability to think on his feet. Seven minutes passed like this, until both Dudley and Harry gave up, panting like mad.

"Where are your parents?" Harry asked, out of breath.

"With... Aunt Marge." Dudley answered, equally out of shape. The two sat back to back and enjoyed breathing for a while. Blood and sweat and spit ran down both boys into a soppy mess on the floor. Finally, Harry stood up and retrieved a few potions stored at the bottom of his trunk. He took a big swig from one, considered for a moment, and then held it out to his cousin.

"Here. It will help you heal." Harry said. Warily, Dudley took it and drank. When he didn't change into anything nasty, he nodded.

"You know, that is the best fight I've had in ages." Dudley said to his cousin with a smile.

"You know..." Harry parodied, "That's the first fight I've had where I didn't expect to die."

"Stop exaggerating. Who'd want to kill you?" Dudley replied with a laugh. The potion was doing its job, and he felt much better.

"Let's see..." Harry stopped for a moment, thinking. "Well, for starters, there's this wizard who calls himself Lord Voldemort: killed my parents, then tried to kill me. During my first year at Hogwarts, there was Professor Quirrell, who was actually working for Voldemort. Second year, there was this basilisk. Think about a snake bigger than Uncle Vernon's car with the power to kill you by looking into your eyes… and it was being controlled by Voldemort too."

The young wizard sat on his bed, and began ticking things off on his fingers. "Third year, there was a werewolf, a Dark wizard, and the bad guy of the hour, Lord Voldemort. Then, fourth year, there was a dragon, some merpeople, giant spiders, a sphinx, a pathetic waste of a dark wizard named Wormtail, one of Voldemort's men posing as a teacher, and, of course, Voldemort himself. Oh, and last year, aside from the ever-present threat of the so-called Dark Lord, the Minister of Magic did his best to kill me via proxy. Or at least ruin my life." He dropped his hand and scowled. When all was said and done, it seemed an awful lot for him to have to go through so young.

"Well...shit..." Dudley said, blinking stupidly.

"I'm getting kind of used to it." Harry muttered.

"Ever see any dead guys?" Dudley asked, sounding awed and excited.

"One of my friends. A few years older than me." Harry said, expression falling as Cedric's visage came, unbidden to mind.

Dudley's jaw dropped. His question had been asked out of adolescent excitement; he'd not expected the sobering reply. "That...bloody sucks," he whispered.

"Considering that four out of five DADA teachers recommend that Harry Potter die, I feel kind of lucky. Only three dead bodies in almost sixteen years," Harry added with a bitter smile.

"Harry..." Dudley said in awe. "Even your teachers...?"

"Sure. I'm getting used to that, too." Harry said, beginning to fume slightly.

"My coach might be tough, but he never tried to _kill_ me." the wrestler muttered. "That's just not normal."

"And it's normal to have the world's worst terrorist out for your blood?" Harry asked sarcastically.

Dudley sighed, brow furrowing. "This will take some getting used to."

"Don't worry about it much. Voldemort hates all non-magic people equally." Harry said with a faux-happy tone. "He'll kill you along with every other muggle if he gets his way."

"What's stopping him?" asked the thicker boy, suddenly turning pale.

"Me, for one." Harry said.

"You?!" his cousin cried. "You can't even fight back against me!" Harry looked pointedly at Dudley's shirt. "OK, but that was a first."

"I'm just lucky, I guess." Harry mumbled unenthusiastically. "Now, if you are quite through with the interrogation, I'd like to get back to my nightmares. So sorry to have woken you."

"Look." Dudley said firmly, "I may have no clue about the wizarding world, but I can wake you up if you start screaming again."

Harry looked up at his cousin in something close to amazement. "I'd like that," he said. "Just no physical attacks," he added quickly. Dudley extended his hand.

"Pax?" He said. Harry took it.

"Pax."

The next day dawned bright and clear, and Harry was up with the sun cooking Dudley's breakfast. Dudley came clomping down as soon as the smell wafted up to him. Once in the doorway to the kitchen, he paused upon seeing his small, dark cousin cooking. Harry expertly flicked the wrist holding the pan, and the flapjack inside soared into the air. Dudley watched in amazement as it turned once then landed back in the pan without any trouble.

"Did you magic that or something? 'Cause I'm not eating magic." Dudley said warily.

"No." Harry said, looking over his shoulder. "That's what years of practice can do for you." Dudley raised one eyebrow. Harry laughed as he carefully scooped the flapjack out of the pan and placed it on a plate with two others. Easily, he poured in more batter and let it sizzle. "Would you like to see it again?" he asked, and Dudley nodded eagerly. After a moment, Harry gripped the pan handle again and gave a great heave. Again, the flapjack gave one graceful turn before landing in the pan.

"Wicked," Dudley said in awe.

"More awesome than dead men?" Harry asked solemnly. Dudley shook his head.

"I spent all night thinking," Dudley started and Harry snorted. Dudley raised his fist in anger. After a few minutes of changing colors, the bulky boy lowered his hand. "I mean it, Harry!" Harry nodded.

"I spent all night thinking about what you said. You must be pretty brave to face down all those bad guys trying to kill you."

"I wouldn't say that." Harry said, dumping breakfast onto a new plate. "It was a choice between me and them. I chose."

"That's pretty cool." Dudley said. "I can't wait to tell Piers and the others."

Harry shook his head. "Tell him what, exactly? I killed three of my teachers, sent another to the hospital, and got the last kicked out?" he asked. "Dudley, listen. You can't tell anyone, 'cause you can't tell them about my school. Not only that, but killing people is not bloody awesome. This is a war I'm stuck in, and it's going to get rather hard to keep you and Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon out of it."

"But I want to help!" Dudley whined. "This is even cooler than my videogames!"

"You have to grow up, Dudley." Harry said sternly. "This isn't a game! We are fighting a very real war against an enemy who is more powerful than you could imagine, who wants nothing more than to see you and everyone you care about dead!" Harry sighed. "You are much too young to think about fighting Voldemort."

"I'm the same age as you, and you've defeated this Moldywort five times!" Dudley griped.

"Six, but who's counting," Harry muttered. "I don't mean in age," he added louder. "I never got to have a childhood, 'cause I spent all my time saving the world. Even before Hogwarts, I wasn't a child."

"What do you mean?" Dudley asked, wrinkling his forehead in concentration.

"Do children live under the stairs? Do they cook breakfast for the family so they don't get slapped? Do they spend all their time worrying about how _not_ to get hit instead of playing ball with their friends?" Harry asked, placing breakfast on the table and pulling out all the settings.

"But..." Dudley said, sitting obediently down to breakfast. "Mum and dad wouldn't actually _hurt_ you...Would they?"

"Actually, they would." Harry replied. "You did some of that yourself." Dudley blinked. "I didn't get good at making flapjacks by watching the telly." Harry added with a teasing tone. The way Dudley was acting, Harry was put in mind of the way Ron acted around his brothers. Stranger still was the brotherly way Harry found himself treating Dudley. The larger boy hadn't needed to grow up quite as quickly as Harry had, and he was, Harry was discovering, was quite naive about the world in general. Dudley would need a helping hand to get over his mother's smothering, and Harry wasn't one to turn down a challenge.

"I knew it was magic!" Dudley said in horror, the last one half in his mouth. He looked rather ill.

"No, Dudley," Harry sighed. "No magic. Unless you consider any master chef a magician." Sighing, he thought, _this might take a while._

"You haven't studied long enough," Dudley whined.

"And it's still illegal for me to perform magic outside of school," Harry commented.

Dudley wrinkled up his brow, thinking. "So..." He said a minute later. "You're a master chef?"

"No." Harry said. "But any master chef _can_ do that."

"Wow," Dudley breathed, somewhat reverently.

"I concur." Harry agreed.

That afternoon, Harry and Dudley watched the telly in companionable silence while the washing machine soaked the blood out of their nightclothes. When Vernon and Petunia Dursley returned home, they were shocked (and more than a little frightened) to see that their nephew and son were almost getting along. The next day, Harry scrambled eggs and cooked sausage and even made toast, while Vernon and Petunia became rather suspicious of this strange normalcy. Dudley, however, was oblivious to such thoughts, and ate his breakfast with childlike abandon. After they were fed, Dudley asked if Harry would like to be taught more about wrestling. Harry quickly agreed, eager to learn.

For some time the days continued in this pattern. Sometimes Dudley would help Harry with his headlock, others Harry would help Dudley with English Literature. Dudley started to give his leftovers to Harry during meals. When Harry became curious enough to ask, the young wrestler explained that in order to go to competition next year, he had to fit into his weight category, and Harry was no fun to wrestle with when he had so little power behind his moves. Harry was surprised at the thought his usually dim cousin put into their situation, so much so that he began to think about other things he could do for Dudley to thank him.

Slowly, Vernon and Petunia Dursley stopped watching the boys like a pair of odd looking hawks. Harry wrote to his godfather every day, telling him about his triumphs at wrestling and failures as a teacher of literature. Over the course of these days, Dudley grew to accept and even admire Harry somewhat, even going to far as to carefully breathe the 'm word', though far out of his mother's earshot. At night, Harry would tell Dudley his adventures at Hogwarts like a bedtime story, and Dudley kept an ear open for Harry's screams.

Thus, it was around the middle of the summer when Severus Snape decided to visit. Then the fun began.

* * *

Notes: My appologies for the severe shortness of this chapter. Hopefully, my new and wonderful beta helped me flesh it out.  
This story is based upon two rather distinct ideas. The first being that the story of Harry Potter does bear several striking resemblances to Arthurian legends. This chapter touches on the beginnings of Arthur's first rise to victory, i.e. pulling the sword from the stone, by bringing him closer to his cousin.  
The second portion of the story comes from a direct quote from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. '"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here!..."', Albus Dumbledor. This one quote, so obvious in hindsight, refers to Fluffy, I couldn't help but wonder what if...We will confront this later in the story, however.

I would also like to give a big thank you to my beta, who goes by Rebell here. Without her wonderful guidance, this story would have ended as a wild notion I had. I really appreciate you!

About the Names:  
Bardsley: 'Beornred's clearing' where Beornred means 'warrior counsel'. Old English.  
Gilda: 'Sacrifice'. Italian.

Pronunciation Guide:  
Bardsley - BARD-slee  
Gilda - GILL-da


	2. Snake in the House

Title: Harry Potter and the Song Weavers

Author: Nanashi Tsurunaji

Disclaimer: All familiar characters, and most familiar creatures and places belong ultimately to J.K. Rowling. Exceptions include: Muggle London, unicorns, certain dragons, and Veriduin, who may or may not make an appearance as she sees fit.

Warnings: Shonen-ai / slash, shojo-ai / fem-slash, age gap (Sevvy and Harry), Dark Magicks, blurry lines and bad jokes. AU as of OotP.

* * *

Chapter Two: Snake in the House

The full moon was fast approaching. In fact, as darkness fell this very evening, it would shine it's light upon the world. Only something as important as this could bring Severus Snape to the abode of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin with out direct orders from Dumbledore himself. In spite of the fact that Lupin was nothing but cordial in all of their recent contact, Black made up for it in spades.

Severus swept through number twelve Grimwald Place, not stopping to speak to Black. It took a lot of will power, but Severus managed not to smile as he fondly remembered Dumbledore assigning the mutt to sit behind a desk, right in front of the floo, and act as a receptionist for the Order. Just the mental image of Black in a dress, maybe a blonde wig and a little make up, put Severus in a good mood all the way to Lupin's 'dungeon'. Actually, Black had converted one of the cellars here to be a werewolf holding cell for the full moons. As he strode purposely through the house, Severus noticed that there were no other Order members around. No inane prattle about sports teams or pretty boy smiles, which brought a contented feeling to Severus' heart. Yet that niggling voice in the back of his head told him he was about to regret everything.

He placed the container in the dungeon, leaving even more quickly than he came, relishing the fact that he had escaped without having to communicate with Lupin or his pet moron. As Severus re-entered the receptionist's room, enjoying his private fantasy of Black's hell, Sirius looked up. Severus' instincts screamed at him to run, but he didn't make a good spy by running whenever he became afraid, and he was NOT going to give Black the satisfaction of knowing the smile he wore was seriously creepy.

"Oh, Snape!" Black purred darkly, "The only Order member immediately available, with no missions pending. I have a mission for you."

"Will you tell me today, or do I have time to get back to my research?" Severus said archly, even though he knew now why he wanted to leave. Whatever this mission was, he wasn't going to enjoy it, if Black's reaction was any indicator.

"Nothing much," Black nearly snickered with glee. "Simply go to this park, and wait for Harry Potter."

Black didn't name the park, just pointed on a map. If Severus could, he would sigh right now, but that would let Black know he was bothered by such a request. Severus snatched the note Black had been reading off the desk. Apparently, Mundungus Fletcher had this assignment before him, and he had taken over for Lupin. As Severus sighed, he Apparated, the loud pop covering the soft sound.

One hour later, Potter still hadn't shown.. No, Harry Potter can save the world all by himself. Severus growled, determined to drag the boy back to Grimwald Place himself. By force, if necessary. He knocked politely at the door. As far as he could tell, he was dressed innocuously enough in his dark suit and tie. His hair, rather long due to misadventures in the guise of orders from Dumbledore, was tied severely back from his face with a black ribbon. He glared at the door as he waited. Then a male voice shook the house.

"GET THE DOOR, YOU GOOD-FOR-NOTHING LOUT!"

Severus didn't even hear the footsteps approach the door, yet the door nearly flew off its hinges, and there stood Harry Potter, the spoiled rotten little brat of Gryffindor. Only, the little prince of Gryffindor was dressed in over large clothes, and sported a few large bruises. The child blinked once, then held the door open. Severus wasted no time in sweeping through the doorway and into the living room.

There, on the couch was the absolute largest being he had ever seen, wizard or muggle, Hagrid aside. The blob glared at Severus in a way it obviously thought was intimidating, but Severus decided that it just made him look constipated. He glared back at the thing in muggle clothing with the disdainful stare that he reserved for Gryffindors and other true idiots. Much better. Thanks.

"What do you want?" The entity asked irritably. Severus snorted and broke his eye contact from turned to his student and frowned. Potter was mostly behind him, keeping his professor between himself and the great white blob. Then again, Potter had always been an odd one.

"Mr. Potter," Severus began. "The Order..."

"Who are you?!" thundered the rotund pink thing on the couch. Its blubber wobbled. Severus had to remind himself not to laugh.

"A professor at Harry's school," Severus said before rounding on Potter again. "Potter..."

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" The thing that stood up and lurched for the Potions Master reminded Severus, oddly enough, of a piece of chewing gum, though phenomenally larger. It strode right up to Severus and bumped him with its gigantic gut.

"OUT! OUT! OUT!" It yelled, and with each word slammed its disgusting blubberous mass into the master spy. Thoroughly revolted,Severus didn't even bother to speak to the creature, merely took out his wand and tiedwhat barely passed for a man to the couch it had been sitting on with a graceful flick of the wrist.

"Freaks like you should all be burned," muttered the male.

Severus's arm twitched dangerously, wand starting the motions for Crucio. "'Freaks'? My repulsive man, 'freaks like me' are all that stand between you and total annihilation." Thewords were not spoken so much as snapped as he continued, "However, I doubt you will live long enough to see the end of our conflict. _Silencio._"

Harry watched with something bordering amusement as his uncle's mouth worked madly and his red face began to edge into an unhealthy shade of purple.

"Before I was so rudely interrupted," Severus said in his oily tones, "I was going to say that the Order has become quite worried when you didn't show up three hours ago."

"What summons?" Harry asked.

"Don't be a fool, boy," Severus snarled. "We received your acknowledgement. Why the hell weren't you at the meeting place?"

"I have no clue what you mean." Harry said. The boy even had the audacity to shake his head. Before the two of them had a chance to work up to a full fledged fight, something rushed down the stairs.

"Is this one of those carrion blokes you were telling me about?" Dudley asked, ready to do battle for his cousin. Harry laughed.

"In a manner of speaking," Harry mumbled. Dudley moved quickly, clocking the Potions Master right in the chin before Harry had a chance to explain. "Wai...Ah...He's a professor!" Harry said, a bit too late.

Dudley gave Harry a dubious look. After hearing of Professor Quirrel, he would believe the worst about all of Harry's professors unless they were actively helping him. The fact that Harry couldn't honestly say that this man wasn't a corpse muncher made Dudley distinctly uneasy. "What about that turban dude? He was a professor too," he muttered.

"Professor Snape," Harry indicated the dark and terrifying man, "is a spy for our side. I hope."

"Twenty points from Gryffindor." Severus rumbled as he rubbed his jaw. "And you!" He rounded on Dudley. "What the...What...are...you...do-ing?" Severus ground out in a rough, menacing tone.

"Protecting my cousin, since you can't," rumbled Dudley as he performed his version of the belly bump his father used.

Harry removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Almost every encounter with Snape had left him with a headache, and his childish cousin wasn't helping much. Slowly, he placed his hand on the young wrestler's shoulder. "Do you have any idea about this summons nonsense?" Harry mumbled.

"Um...No?" the other boy replied. Severus glared at the boys.

"Did you, by any chance, write a letter in my name?" Harry asked darkly, as he pushed his glasses back onto his nose.

"Uh...No?" Dudley responded. Harry lifted an eyebrow. "Yes...I mean no. I never sent a letter with your owl! She'd bite me...Or something?" The wrestler lifted his bandaged fingers as proof. Harry hung his head and sighed.

"Take this," Severus snarled as he passed The-Boy-Who-Wouldn't-Bloody-Die a small necklace. "_Transporto_." As the teenager's outline began to get hazy, the Potions master brought a hand to his temple in relief._ And one headache down_. Then Dudley leapt to his cousin's side, snatching at the smaller boy's shoulders, and the two disappeared. _One to go._ Severus sighed at the thought and fought the urge to cover his face with his hand. It looked as if Potter took after his cousin. What a frightening a flourish, the dark man Apparated away to the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix, completely forgetting about the blob of a man tied to the couch.

* * *

Authors Notes: If anyone is interested in the side fic to this, also know as Vernon Dursley and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, please let me know. Otherwise, it won't be going up here.


	3. Guarding Bodies

Note: Those who like the premise of my story, but hate my writing style, please check out The Marriage Stone by Josephine Darcy.

Title: Harry Potter and the Song Weavers

Author: Nanashi Tsurunaji

Disclaimer: All familiar characters, and most familiar creatures and places belong ultimately to J.K. Rowling. Exceptions include: Muggle London, unicorns, certain dragons, and Veriduin, who may or may not make an appearance as she sees fit.

Warnings: Shonen-ai / slash, shojo-ai / fem-slash, age gap (Sevvy and Harry), Dark Magicks, blurry lines and bad jokes. AU as of OotP. Not beta'd.

* * *

Chapter Three: Guarding Bodies

Harry Potter found himself rather confused. He knew he had been Portkeyed out of the Dursley's, but was still trying to find his feet, when something large had caught him from behind. Harry didn't think. He just moved, dropping out of the hold to the floor. Just as swiftly, he cut between the other's legs, and jumped up to catch the other in a choke hold.

"You got that one down, Harry," Dudley said with a smile, "But I think your godfather would like to breath."

Harry looked at the dark hair he was facing and, blushing, let go.

"You've gotten stronger, haven't you Harry?" said Sirius Black as he turned around.

"I'm sorry, Sirius…" Harry said, hanging his head.

"Hey…No. I'm glad you're learning how to defend yourself with out a wand." Sirius said.

"I taught him that!" said Dudley, his voice filled with pride.

"And who might you be?" Sirius asked seriously.

"I might be Dudley Dursley." Dudley smiled at his dark haired cousin.

"And you might be a Death Eater sent to kill us all." Sirius snarled.

"He's not, really." Harry interjected quickly. "We had a… male bonding moment. Right now, we have agreed not to kill one another."

"Harry, you trust too much." Sirius sighed. Then Severus popped into the small room in a towering rage.

"Harry?" Dudley glanced at his cousin from the corner of his eye. "Is he really a good guy?"

"What is all this nonsense about 'good' and 'bad' anyway!" Severus bellowed at both boys.

"He meant nothing by it, professor." Harry tried to appease as Snape drew breath for more of his foul temper to be released into the room.

"Meant nothing by it? Well that makes it all better, doesn't it, Potter?" Snape hissed with barely contained anger.

"Snivilus! Get a hold of yourself right now!" Sirius boomed. Any normal person would cringe at the sound, but Dudley stood firm in the knowledge that, for once, he wasn't in trouble. Severus knew that the old dog couldn't best him in a contest of skill, and held his ground.

"Can you honestly tell me that the boy didn't know?" Severus ground out to his nemesis. "You and I both know that Potter would tell all and sundry the minute he got the bloody chance."

"Language!" Sirius bellowed, and from far below Remus replied with a blood-curdling werewolf howl.

"Know what?" Dudley replied, confused. It was obvious from his lack of fear that he was still nothing special in the brains department.

"Of course I never told anyone!" Harry asserted, albeit quietly, so as not to disturb the wolf far below. "Dudley is a good guy. Strong as an ox, with just about as much brains, but good enough when he has focus." Dudley preened under the praise, completely missing the insult beneath. "But that doesn't meant that I have to tell him every little minuscule detail of the wizarding world."

"HEY! If this is about wizard stuff, I don't want to know!" Dudley cried. Harry shot his professor a pointed look.

"Not to mention that Dudley's parents are extremely anti-magic." Harry concluded. For a moment, Severus Snape stood stock still, letting the new information wash over him. Then, with a smooth turn billowing out his cloak, he sent Dudley home.

"Be that as it may," Snape purred in false friendliness. "Muggles have no business in Order headquarters."

And with a pop, he, too, was gone.

* * *

Three nights later, Harry ended up awake, screaming in pain and fear. Unlike previous nightmares, he couldn't remember what had happened. He eased himself out of bed and down to the kitchen, where the light was already on. Pushing the door open a crack, he looked in to see what was going on. So many years of having the adults hide things from him had prepared him for this, though he did feel a bit silly for expecting a minion of Voldemort in the kitchen. After all, Grimwald Place was protected, right?

The person in the kitchen was one he had never met. She was dressed quite strangely, too. In one of those dresses that were more common place back in the thirteenth century, in green and black. Her hair, too, was black, though it was tied back with a strange circlet of green metal. She didn't look a day over forty, though she acted as tired as Dumbledore. She pressed her hands around a steaming mug and sighed.

"You can come in, youth." she said, her voice accented lightly with an Irish brogue.

"I'm Harry. Harry Potter." he said as he entered.

"I know who you are, boy." she sighed. "But I suspect you want to know all about me. For the moment, you can call me Ailbhe O'Dubhán. I have a few other names, but that will be the one most people around here will know me by."

"What are you drinking?" Harry asked quietly.

"Hot Toddy. Would you like one?" Ailbhe asked.

"But…I'm under age." Harry said with a modicum of regret.

"Old enough to die for the cause, old enough to drink." she sang, and the cup duplicated itself.

"How did you do that?" Harry asked, as he took the cup from the older woman.

"I'll show you sometime." Ailbhe replied. "More importantly, what are you doing up at this hour."

"I had a bad dream." Harry responded guardedly.

"A vision from your parasite?" she asked, tapping his skull. Harry looked both affronted and scared. "Albus told me."

"I don't remember." Harry said, grudgingly letting his guard down. It really didn't help that the older woman was so open and responsive to everything he said, like he imagined a mother would be.

"Don't you usually remember every detail from your times with him?"

"Well, yeah, but…" Harry started.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. It wasn't your typical parasite dream, and you have enough bad memories for any three people. It wouldn't be a wonder if you had a nightmare or two every once in a while." Ailbhe said, giving him a side-long glance. "In fact, you seem to be holding up better than expected. Now, finish your toddy and go to bed. It's getting early."

When Harry woke up, there wasn't a trace of the woman anywhere in the house. Not even a mug in the sink. Harry began to think it was all a dream. Of course, in the shadowy dark of night, even the familiar Mrs. Weasley would look dark and mysterious. Now, in the light of day, eating breakfast with his godfather and Professor Lupin, the whole thing seemed so surreal.

"I had this weird dream last night." Harry said, taking a bite of toast as his guardians 'mmmm'ed interest. "There was this strange lady here, in the kitchen."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth, Sirius shot up out of his relaxed position. Remus followed suit, giving Harry a sharp look.

"It wasn't like one of Voldemort's visions. In fact, she called him a parasite." Harry added.

"Tall woman, green dress, black hair?" Remus asked.

"Yeah! How did you know?" Harry said, feeling oddly relaxed all things considered.

"What did she do?" the ex-professor demanded.

"Just talked with me. She gave me some thing to drink, and comforted me over a nightmare." Harry said, but neither adult seemed to relax.

"Be careful around Ailbhe, Harry." Remus said, "She's looking for a new apprentice and thinks Dumbledore will give you to her as some sort of prize."

"She's more of a snake than a Slytherin." Sirius added, frowning comically. Then the kitchen door swung open, and a fierce young woman entered. She dressed in the same style as Ailbhe, in blues and blacks and silvers that complemented her dark blue eyes and pale skin. She didn't wear a circlet, but instead had a sword strapped to her hips. Across her face, from the left side of her forehead to her right cheek ran a dark scar. Her nose was angular, almost hawk-like, and the scowl she wore would peel open lead bullets.

"Will you please tell me what you are doing in this kitchen…" Remus started.

"Coffee…" the woman groaned, stretching the word out. And lo! There was a steaming cup of coffee in her left hand.

"What was that?" Harry shouted, surprised in spite of his late night exposure to a similar feat just the night before. Or maybe because of it. Harry, himself, couldn't tell.

"Coffee in a Cardboard Cup." she grunted, taking another slow sip. "Or, rather, a small segment from the song 'Coffee in a Cardboard Cup' from the musical The World Goes 'Round.* Potter, right? I'm not supposed to talk to you." she muttered before vanishing with a twitch of her right hand upon the sword's hilt. The three men sat around the kitchen for a long moment.

"That was…weird." Remus muttered.

"I didn't know that magic could still surprise me…" Harry added, awed.

"I still don't like those Songweavers. Shifty bunch, the lot of them." Sirius grumbled.

* * *

Days passed after that with nary a hitch in what passed for normalcy within the Order Headquarters. In the mornings, Harry, in the fashion of teenagers the world over, would sleep in. He would wake in time for lunch, before finishing one homework assignment. After, he would play a game or two with Sirius or Remus, and occasionally both. Then, he would be left to his own devices until he became too exhausted to do anything but sleep, which would lead him to his bedroom to collapse before repeating the process the next morning.

Most days he spent his free time wandering around Black Manor, discovering odd little alcoves and interesting nick-nacks. In fact, he had investigated so many new things around the manor, that Sirius had issued the standing order to keep anything that caught his fancy. So far, Harry hadn't taken him up on such an offer.

Around August seventeenth, Harry was wandering as usual, when he spotted a light. The big grandfather clock in the main living room had started it's deep toll for the midnight hour, and Harry severely doubted that anyone awake this hour was up to any good. With all the stealth he could muster, Harry crept closer to the hidden panel and pressed it ajar. There sat the withered, miserable excuse for a house elf that adorned Black Manor like a plague, silent and poisonous. He carefully ran his grimy fingers over something encased in a dark wooden box. Harry held his breath as the ugly elf turned half way around, nearly coming face to face with Harry, before popping out of existence.

Cautiously, Harry entered, ever watchful for the little nuisance to return. Leaning over the box, he found himself looking at a complex pentacle pendant formed entirely of serpents. The snakes begged him to pick them up, take them home with him. He picked it up, surprised at it's warmth, and placed it in his pocket. The serpents quieted under his touch, and Harry knew they had an important role to play in later events. He just hoped that they would be for the better.

* * *

Author's Notes:

First off, I'd like to apologize in the extreme delay between this chapter and the last. Much has been going on in my life. Since last we spoke; I've met the man of my dreams, quit collage until I could figure out what I want to be, worked for the school district, gotten married, moved, been to the hospital (for the first time since I was born), gotten a pair of cats, and found out that my beta's computer is dying. So, from now until she can get back on her feet, this will be unbeta'd.

Secondly, I want to thank my reviewers. I'm glad you like it, and I hope to answer any questions you have. Unfortunately, the Song Weavers (and answers about their attitudes) will have to wait until later. I can't say much on them without ruining some of the surprises, but I will say that there IS a link between them and the girl in the Ministry who saved Sirius.

Thirdly, if you have any criticisms, please sign in. Or at least leave an e-mail address. I know I'm not the best writer in the world, and I'd like to get better. Critics help in this, but sometimes I need clarification. So please don't hesitate to tell me what I'm doing wrong.

As a final note; while I will try to put out at least a chapter a month, I am also working on an original fiction that takes priority. As much as I love writing fanfics, my original fiction has the potential to make money. As a newly wed, money is always a problem. I am still writing, just not very quickly.

Sorry for the inconvenience,

Nanashi Yasamura (^_^)


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